Cardiff University Film Studies

Cardiff University Film Studies

TV and film

One of Cardiff’s fastest growing industries is TV and film. Home to famous shows like Doctor Who and Torchwood, the BBC have built the UK’s largest drama studios in Cardiff Bay.

Doctor Who and Torchwood

Because Cardiff is the centre of the time rift, Doctor Who and Torchwood are synonymous with the city and you can take walking tours of major Doctor Who locations, including the famous Water Tower.

A Doctor Who Experience is open in Cardiff Bay. It features exclusive filming, as well as props, costumes, monsters, full-scale TARDIS reproduction sets and memorabilia.

You can also study on the set of Doctor Who. Cardiff University has been used in many episodes and in one episode a lecture theatre represented the interior of the White House.

More TV

Other examples of popular Wales TV exports include:

Sherlock (in which Cardiff University featured in the very first episode)

Hinterland

Being Human

Merlin

Upstairs, Downstairs

Holby City (a popular British medical/hospital drama)

Gavin & Stacey (a cult British comedy)

One of the most memorable moments of filming at Cardiff University was in 1996. When making Drover’s Gold, the University’s Main Building was turned into a cattle market, with sheep, horses and cows occupying the space normally occupied by students!

Film

One of the reasons for Cardiff’s popularity is the range of scenery. With beautiful architecture, parks, mountains, beaches, forests and cliffs just a short drive away, the city has become a convenient location to base film crews, such as Pinewood, which opened its new studios in Wentloog on the outskirts of the city in 2014.

Wales has also featured prominently in Russell Crowe’s Robin Hood and Tomb Raider with Angelina Jolie (when Snowdonia doubled as the mountains of China).